Middle East Technical University Research Articles

An informal and transformative learning environment: The case of ODTÜ Bostan community garden in Turkey

This study explores the role of ODTÜ Bostan (METU Garden), a community garden at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey, in promoting sustainability education, ecology, and food consumption practices. For ten years, ODTÜ Bostan has been a collaborative space where participants—including students, academic and non-academic staff, and their families—grow and share food using ecological agricultural methods. This research examines how this community garden creates a setting for alternative and interdisciplinary learning, supporting practical engagement, critical thinking, and community interaction for community participants. Drawing on the Education for Sustainable Development and transformative learning frameworks, this qualitative study employs autoethnography, thematic analysis of eight semi-structured interviews, and content analysis of archival data. The findings indicate that ODTÜ Bostan not only enhances participants' sustainability competencies but also serves as an educational laboratory, demonstrating the potential of community gardens to address global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. The study highlights the importance of integrating interdisciplinary and learner-centered approaches in higher education leading to collective action for societal change toward sustainability.

Utilizing digital technologies for rapid damage assessment and reconnaissance: the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş-Türkiye earthquakes (Mw 7.7 and Mw 7.6)

AbstractThis paper presents a comprehensive overview of the rapid damage assessment and reconnaissance efforts following the devastating earthquakes on February 6, 2023, in Türkiye. It specifically focuses on implementing the SiteEye Disaster Plugin, an additional component of SiteEye software developed by i4 Company engineers and Middle East Technical University researchers. This tool played a critical role in managing and analyzing a massive dataset comprising over 28,000 images and videos. The research highlights the plugin’s innovative features, such as offline data collection, georeferenced-based layering, and an integrated damage classification system, significantly improving earthquake impact assessments’ accuracy and efficiency. It also underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration involving national and international teams and the role of open data in disaster management. The findings demonstrate how digital technologies can transform the field of disaster response, offering new approaches for rapid assessment and effective management in the aftermath of seismic events. This research contributes valuable insights into enhancing disaster preparedness and response strategies, particularly in earthquake-prone areas.

USE OF RENEWABLE SOLAR-WIND HYBRID ENERGY SOURCES TO MEETLOCAL ELECTRICITY DEMAND: CURRENT STATUS AND PROSPECTS

Renewable energy sources are those which are abundantly available in nature. These are solar, wind, sea, geothermal and biomass and energy generated from these sources are carbon free with less pollution and capable enough to compensate the energy generated from coal and other fossil fuels. Wind and solar energy are becoming popular owing to abundance, availability and ease of harnessing for electrical power generation. It is very common to use these two aforementioned sources to generate electricity independently, i.e. solar power acting alone or wind power alone. Sometimes, though, it is desired that two of these renewable energy resources are combined together to generate electricity and these types of systems are called a Hybrid Power System (HPS). Hybrid power systems therefore, provide increased system efficiency and greater balance in supply of energy. The presentation will be a brief overview of research conducted around the world to design and implement HPS-s that combine wind and solar energy to produce reliable and sustainable electricity for local purposes. Also, information about the research conducting in these directions at the “Novel Alloys Design and Development Lab” (NOVALAB) of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department in Middle East Technical University (MetE-METU) and "New Materials and Nanotechnology" Center of Excellence of Azerbaijan Technical University (AzTU) and the details of joint research project proposal within the framework of the Japan-Azerbaijan technical cooperation program in the designing and implementation of solar-wind hybrid energy system at main campus and Techno-park of AzTU in order to supply full electricity demand from green energy sources will be given.

Medical Informatics as a Concept and Field-Based Medical Informatics Research: The Case of Turkey

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the position of Turkey in the field of Medical Informatics and assess the general structure of research by analyzing Medical Informatics research with bibliometric methods. Material and Methods: In this study, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of research and review articles generated between 1980 and 2023 from the Web of Science bibliometric data source, utilizing bibliometric methods through the R bibliometrix tool and VosViewer. Results: In the field of medical informatics research in Turkey, the country holds the 27th position with 905 articles, 15,610 citations, and an impressive impact factor of 51, along with an average citation rate of 17.25 per article, based on bibliometric analysis conducted between 1980 and 2023. Notable institutions in this field include Middle East Technical University, Hacettepe University, and Selçuk University. The prominent research topics encompass "neural network(s), machine learning, support vector, health care, decision support, deep learning, EEG signals, classification accuracy," reflecting the areas of intensive investigation. Conclusion: In Turkey, the field of medical informatics has lagged slightly behind basic engineering sciences or medical sciences. The domain exhibits a multidisciplinary structure intersecting with various engineering fields such as computer science, software engineering, industrial engineering, artificial intelligence engineering, and electronic engineering. To enhance productivity in this field, greater collaboration with other research areas can be pursued. Additionally, it is recommended to urgently establish four-year undergraduate programs specifically dedicated to medical informatics or health informatics at universities.

Lower Devonian vertebrate microfossils from Turkey

A small sample of vertebrate fish scales, predominantly those of a thelodont agnathan, the turiniid Turinia sp. cf. T. nachoi, and a few from the acanthodian gnathostome Nostovicina laticristata, have been found in the Lower Devonian Güneyyaka Formation in the Ovacik slice of the Tahtalidağ Nappe north of Alanya (Antalya Unit) in the Antalya region, southwest Anatolia, southern Turkey. The area is considered to have been on the northern Gondwana margin at that time. The fish microfossils support a Lochkovian to possible early Pragian at youngest (Early Devonian) age for the limestone beds, and are amongst the oldest known Turkish vertebrate fossils. Yakut Göncüoglu [yigtjpc@gmail.com], Kafkas Sitesi 2481. Sok. No 65 Umitköy-Ankara, Turkey; Carole J. Burrow [carole.burrow@gmail.com], Queensland Museum Geosciences, 122 Gerler Road, Hendra Queensland 4011, Australia; Susan Turner [paleodeadfish@yahoo.com], Queensland Museum Geosciences, 122 Gerler Road, Hendra Queensland 4011, Australia; Philippe Janvier [philippe.janvier@mnhn.fr], Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, 75005 Paris, France; M. Cemal Göncüoglu [mcgoncu@metu.edu.tr], Middle East Technical University (METU), Department of Geological Engineering, 06531 Ankara, Turkey.

Determination of Factors Affecting International Students’ Satisfaction Levels Using CHAID Analysis

Internationalization has recently been a core element for higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide. Various components provide internationalization in HEIs. However, international students stand out from the others due to providing numerous benefits to host countries. Therefore, HEIs around the world seek to increase the number of international students and their satisfaction levels. This study, inspired from the importance of international students, seeks to determine the factors affecting the satisfaction levels of international students who study at a Turkish state university. To this end, an on-line survey consisting of 25 questions were administered to a total of 330 international students studying at Middle East Technical University (METU). Survey data were evaluated using the CHAID (Chi-Squared Automatic Interaction Detection) analysis. The findings of the analysis indicated that the international students’ implications, study degree and gender played a major role in their satisfaction levels. Considering these influential factors determined by the CHAID analysis will contribute to the internationalization strategies which is developed to attract more international students to HEIs.

Natural Disaster Readiness and Response: Bringing Designers, Design Thinking, and Design Innovation into the Agenda

In 2023, earthquakes struck Turkey, Syria, and Morocco, while torrential rain and floods hit Libya. When faced with images and eyewitness accounts of disasters, conscientious designers ask: how can design help in natural disaster readiness and response? Design and disaster management are rarely overlapping disciplines, resulting in little critical analysis on the role of design and designers in the context of disasters. This paper offers an overview of design for disaster. It acts as a guide and call for action, informing policymakers, managers, and other stakeholders on the contribution design can make to this challenging area. A case study approach is taken for exemplification and argumentation. Turkey serves as a poignant geographical example: rich in design capability, yet facing high risks from natural disasters. Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara forms the institutional case, notable as one of Turkey’s most research-intensive universities—and one that also possesses design for disaster experience. The major contribution of the paper is a preliminary framework on design for disaster readiness and response, directed at practical efforts and policymaking in what is an emerging inter- and trans-disciplinary field. Designers, design thinking, and design innovation can all take a role.

The Digitalization of Studio Practices and Its Impact on the Development of Design Literacy of First-Year Architecture Students

Digital skills are emphasized in the ongoing process of digital transformation in higher education. In this article, digital literacy is discussed within the broader perspective of design literacy and the acceleration of the digitalization process of first-year design education at the time of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 is highlighted. The article interrogates the role of digital skills in the development of design literacy of first-year architecture students through a multiple case analysis of ARCH 101 design studio practices executed in the Bachelor of Architecture programmes at the Özyeğin University, Department of Architecture and the Middle East Technical University, Department of Architecture. The digitalization processes of ARCH 101 studios increased rapidly when the COVID-19 pandemic started and resulted in the integration of digital tools into basic design education in ways that transformed (1) the communication modalities and the representation and research strategies used by students, and (2) the understanding and methodologies of the design process when used as generative design tools.

Improving the Quality of Life and Sustainability for Middle-Class Mass Housing

This article presents and discusses the results of the Stakeholder Workshop (Co) Designing for Quality of Life: Exploring Challenges and Opportunities, which was held at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara in October 2022 in the framework of the COST Action CA18137 European Middle Class Mass Housing (MCMH-EU). The workshop aimed to discover the possibilities of participatory design as a tool to address the necessary updating of the housing complexes of the Modern Movement (MoMo). The workshop, which was conducted on a cooperative housing estate, namely Ümitköy Sitesi, Ankara, Türkiye (1970), was carried out in five groups with members of different nationalities, ages, and experiences. This article argues that the public and private strategies which were followed to rehabilitate these complexes by focusing on the technical problems (construction pathologies, energy inefficiency, accessibility, parking, among others) tend to neglect, even ignore, the diverse social aspects involved. As a group of participants of this workshop, the authors of this article consider the involvement of all parties (experts, residents, housing management cooperative, and municipality) in the improvement processes of such middle-class mass housing sites as the key instrument to make these neighborhoods more inclusive and sustainable. This article evaluates the Stakeholder Workshop’s co-design performance as an instrument to improve the Quality of life (QoL) and sustainability of the neighborhood. The critical analysis of the workshop results leads to several significant conclusions: Social aspirations do not always coincide with political and technical ones; technical rehabilitations are not sufficient for the total improvement of QoL and sustainability of communities; (Co-)Design may have to be approached from different perspectives and, consequently, have different results; citizens have a great potential to participate and contribute to the improvement of QoL with innovative ideas and actions of different scales. However, the socioeconomic diversity of the inhabitants and restrictive legislation are the difficulties to be considered.

Peer Review Statement

All papers published in this volume have been reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.• Type of peer review: Double Anonymous• Conference submission management system: Morressier• Number of submissions received: 15• Number of submissions sent for review: 14• Number of submissions accepted: 7• Acceptance Rate (Submissions Accepted / Submissions Received × 100): 46.7• Average number of reviews per paper: 1.9• Total number of reviewers involved: 23• Contact person for queries: Name: Murat Fahrioglu Email: fmurat@metu.edu.tr Affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering - Middle East Technical University

Cybersecurity Technology Foresight: 2040 Scenarios for Turkey

Foresight is a methodical and comprehensive approach that prioritizes investment and research in order to shape the future and implement future strategies. Cybersecurity, one of the most important elements of Industry 4.0, is to protect information and communication systems against cyber attacks and to ensure the availability, confi-dentiality and integrity of these systems and the data therein. This study aims to make a theoretical and practical contribution to foresight and cybersecurity studies by summarizing the updated version of the methods and outputs used in the doctoral thesis titled “Technology Foresight and Modeling: Turkish Cybersecurity Foresight 2040”, con-ducted at Middle East Technical University (METU) in 2019. As a result of the study, Turkey's national cybersecurity technology foresight was given with different scenarios; Turkey's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in terms of cybersecurity were determined; a cybersecurity technology taxonomy which is officially accepted by the Presidency of Defense Industries was created; the cybersecurity status of the universities and companies in Turkey has been determined; and concrete policy recommendations based on foresight outputs have been put forward. The study is the most comprehensive cybersecurity foresight in Turkey in terms of topics covered and participants, which comprises nearly 150 experts from government, military, academia, and the private sector. Overall, the study provides important insights into the current state of cybersecurity in Turkey and makes recommendations for the future. Its wide range of stakeholders and comprehensive analysis make it a valuable resource for understanding the complex landscape of cybersecurity in the country.

UTILISING GIS FOR DOCUMENTATION, CONSERVATION, AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY CAMPUS IN ANKARA AS A MODERN PERIOD LIVING HERITAGE PLACE

Abstract. The Middle East Technical University (METU) Ankara Campus is one of the earliest and most prominent modern-period university campuses that resulted from an architectural competition in the 1960s in Turkey. However, METU Campus, as a modern-era heritage place, faces various threats, including pressure for new urban development. In addition, the increasing number of students and contemporary educational needs require changes in the physical infrastructure and campus settings. Thus, all these threaten the tangible and intangible values of the Campus. In this regard, conserving the METU Campus requires a multidimensional approach that considers a wide range of values and problems; herein, the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) becomes a useful tool for dealing with this complex work. Accordingly, the METU Campus GIS Project [METU_GIS] was developed to document and understand the multidimensional characteristics of the METU Campus, assess its values, and propose solutions to current issues while considering its values and potentials. Accordingly, the METU_GIS defines conservation policies and strategies that ensure the conservation and sustainability of the Campus as a living modern heritage place. Furthermore, the METU_GIS is a GIS-based conservation management plan created for a modern period campus for the first time in Turkey. Hence, it became an essential basis and a tool for conserving and managing the METU Campus as a modern living heritage place. All in all, the METU_GIS proves that Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are essential tools that can be used in the documentation, conservation, and monitoring of modern heritage places.

Quadrupole magnet design, manufacturing and the acceptance tests for METU-defocusing beamline

Middle East Technical University Defocusing Beam Line (METU-DBL) performs the Single Event Effects (SEEs) radiation tests with protons in the range of 15 MeV to 30 MeV kinetic energy at Turkish Atomic Energy Authority Proton Accelerator Facility (TENMAK NÜKEN-PAF) for space and nuclear applications. The most critical beam transfer elements in the METU-DBL are three quadrupole magnets, which are used for defocusing the beam like optical lenses. The first two quadrupole magnets were purchased commercially, and the third quadrupole magnet was designed by the METU-DBL project team and manufactured by Sönmez Transformer Inc. in Turkey. Electronic, mechanic and magnetic capability tests of this custom-designed magnet were conducted both at TUBITAK and CERN facilities. After passing the acceptance tests, the magnet was certified by CERN and then installed to METU-DBL as a third quadrupole magnet. In this paper, we present details of the design, production and performed tests of the quadrupole magnet.

METU-DBL: a cost effective proton irradiation facility

The Middle East Technical University Defocusing Beamline (METU-DBL) is designed to deliver protons with selectable kinetic energies between 15–30 MeV, and proton flux between 106–1010 protons/cm2/s, on a maximum 21.55 to 15.40 cm target region with a beam uniformity within ±6%, in accordance with the ESA ESCC No. 25100 specification for single event effects (SEEs) tests in the low energy range. The achieved high proton fluences, allow users to test space-grade materials; electronic circuits, ASICs, FPGAs, optical lenses, structural elements, and coating layers for LEO, GEO, and interplanetary missions.The total received dose on the Device-Under-Test (DUT) from secondary particles created during proton-material interactions at the first beam collimator and the beam dump never exceed 0.1% of the dose from primary protons. The METU-DBL is equiped with several measurement stations and services to the user teams. A secondary measurement station in a rotating drum that can hold multiple samples has been constructed next to the first collimator which provides neutrons for transmission experiments. At the target region, a robotic table is located, which provides mechanical and electrical mounting points to the samples and allows multiple samples to be tested in a row. A modular vacuum box can also be attached on the robotic table for any test that may require a vacuum environment. Power rails on the robotic table provide various outputs for the DUT. For the data acquisition, high-speed networking and a modular industrial PC are available at the target station. The design of the METU-DBL control software enables test users to integrate and optimize the data acquisition and controlling of the DUT.The beam properties at the target region are measured with the diamond, Timepix3, and fiber scintillator detectors mounted on the robotic table. With diamond and Timepix3 detectors, measurements are taken from the five different points (center and the four corners) of the test area to measure the proton flux and ensure that it is uniform across the full test area. Fiber scintillators on both axes (X and Y) scan the target area to cross-check the beam profile's uniformity. Secondary doses during the irradiation are measured by a Geiger-Müller tube sensitive to electrons and gammas above 0.1 MeV and by a neutron detector located at the entrance of the R&D room. The room cools down relatively fast after any irradiation (<1 hour).Accurate linear energy deposition rates and absorbed doses on the samples are calculated using MCNP6, FLUKA and Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations. Alanine dosimetry measurements that are calibrated against these simulations are also used to estimate the absorbed dose on the sample.

Crack recognition on concrete structures based on machine crafted and hand crafted features

Concrete structures play a critical role in infrastructure development, and their safety is of utmost importance. Cracks in concrete structures can be a sign of deterioration, which may affect the overall safety of the building. Regular inspections and monitoring of surface cracks are essential to ensure the structural integrity of the building. However, human inspection can be time-consuming and subjective, leading to inconsistent findings. Hence, computer vision based crack recognition is necessary. In this work, we propose three custom designed deep networks and a multi resolution framework, named, Quaternionic wavelet transform (QWT) for crack recognition. The efficiency of deep network (machine crafted features) and QWT (hand crafted features) is studied in detail on three datasets namely SDNET2018, METU (Middle East Technical University) concrete crack image dataset and Historical-crack18-19 dataset. Also, the effect of wavelet scale on crack recognition and the implication of the fully connected layers in deep convolutional neural networks are studied in this research work. Finally, we infer that QWT features achieve a maximum accuracy of 98.44%, 99.80% and 94.67% respectively on the above said datasets, and their performance is comparable to that of machine-crafted (deep) features and with the other state of art methods.

Study Reviews Technologies, Work Flows in Heavy Oil Reservoir Management

_ This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 209328, “Heavy Oil Reservoir Management—Latest Technologies and Work Flows,” by Hakki Aydin, SPE, Middle East Technical University; Nirup Nagabandi, Incendium Technologies; and Cenk Temizel, SPE, Saudi Aramco, et al. The paper has not been peer reviewed. _ Successful heavy oil reservoir management practices are built on analyzing and accurately predicting reservoir behavior over time. Given the complex nature of heavy oil reservoirs, including geomechanical properties and fluid-flow behavior, a need exists to develop a repeatable technique that can account for these complexities within an acceptable margin of accuracy. The objective of the complete paper is to conduct a comprehensive review of recent technologies and work flows developed for heavy oil reservoir management that can be used as a single source of reference for the industry. Introduction Because of its comprehensive nature, much of the complete paper is dedicated to a review of the characteristics of heavy oil reservoirs and their exploitation, including thermal and nonthermal methods and the literature dedicated thereto. This synopsis will concentrate on the authors’ reviews of work flows to manage these reservoirs and field applications of the methodologies they review. Work Flow for Heavy Oil Reservoir Management Reservoir management is a multidisciplinary field involving detailed analysis of geosciences such as reservoir engineering, geological engineering, and petrophysics. Evaluation of geological information and fluid properties helps to understand the distribution of heavy oil in the reservoir. Understanding the characteristics of heavy oil reservoirs is essential for selecting the appropriate enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method. Reservoir-surveillance techniques play a critical role in understanding complex systems. Statistical approaches might be required to handle extensive data sets of production history and petrophysical data. The main goal of the reservoir management team in thermal EOR methods is to optimize parameters in steam-injection projects to maximize recovery rates from heavy oil reservoirs. The important parameters influencing the success of thermal projects include injection rates and pressures, preferential steam paths, well profiles, and reservoir depth. Previous work has presented a work flow for optimizing steamfloods in Oman. The work flow involves a review of production and injection history, petrophysical properties, and geological descriptions. Steam/oil ratio was used as a key performance indicator for steam management; it is defined as barrels of steam injected for 1 bbl of additional oil production. The steam breakthrough was monitored from the wellhead flowing temperature of the producer wells. A sudden increase in wellhead temperature is associated with a steam breakthrough. The permeability map of the reservoir helps to select appropriate injectors for a steamflood. High-permeability wells might lead to fingering, causing less recovery. Vertical conformance is desired to achieve oil sweep with steam. Observation wells are the controlling stations of steamflooding efficiency. It is critical to place the observation wells in heterogeneous reservoirs. Geophysical methods also are applied for surveillance of steam-injection projects. Real-time surveillance plays a critical role in the optimization of heavy oil reservoirs. The authors describe a modeling technique called Production Universe (PU) that enables operators to estimate oil and water production in real time. PU is effective at finding the offending well in case of sudden changes in field-level production. PU provides an automated daily production and deferment report that guides analysts to identify low-efficiency wells for remedial operations.

Challenges faced by newly-hired teachers at Modern Languages Department of Middle East Technical University

Challenges faced by newly-hired teachers at Modern Languages Department of Middle East Technical University

Comparison of Artificial Neural Networks with other Machine Learning Methods in Foot Movement Classification

Modern prostheses can be controlled by using gait analysis data from Inertial Measurement Units compared to traditional prostheses. This article aims to classify foot movements for the robotic ankle system in lower limb prostheses to recognize motion intent and adapt to abnormal walking conditions. The statistical features are extracted from IMU data from 11 volunteers aged 20-34 and then the features are classified using machine learning. In this study, the classification accuracies of Naïve Bayes Classifier, Linear Discriminant Analysis, K-Nearest Neighbour Classifier and Support Vector Machines and Artificial Neural Networks in classifying foot movements are examined separately for the raw data and the processed data such as Euler angles and quaternions which estimate with Madwick Filter. Gait analysis data were obtained by using the Inemo inertial module LSM9DS1 work on an NRF52 including 9 DOF, triaxial gyroscope, triaxial accelerometer, and triaxial magnetometer in the Biomechanics Laboratory of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Middle East Technical University from eleven subjects and achieved an highest classification accuracy rate of 90.9% on test data, 97.3% for training data.

Cell scientist to watch – Elvan Böke

ABSTRACT Elvan Böke studied molecular biology and genetics at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. She then moved to the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute (CRUK-MI) for a PhD with Iain Hagan, where she discovered that a PP1–PP2A phosphatase relay promotes mitotic exit in fission yeast. For her postdoc, she moved to the lab of Tim Mitchison at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA, where she unraveled how the enigmatic Balbiani body is formed by an amyloid-like assembly mechanism in oocytes. Elvan established her group at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) Barcelona, Spain, in 2017, where her lab investigates oocyte biology and cellular dormancy. She was awarded an ERC Starting Grant in 2017 and an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2022. In 2021, Elvan became a member of the EMBO Young Investigator Network.

The Course of Managerialism in Turkish Higher Education: An Analysis of Quality Assurance Policies and Practices

Neoliberal policies in higher education in Turkey started after the 1980s and manifested in managerial practices since the 2000s. This trend resulted in the commercialization of higher education and the increased managerial control over academic activity. The purpose of the paper is to study managerialism on the policies of the Council of Higher Education (Yükseköğretim Kurulu, hereafter YÖK) and its practices in universities in Turkey. The implementation of quality assurance policies through YÖK is a key component in understanding managerialism in the university context. The paper is based on documentary analysis of quality assurance regulations as well as internal quality assurance reports of Middle East Technical University (Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, hereafter ODTÜ). Documentary analysis gave us the opportunity to track the historical course of quality assurance policies and practices. We find out that managerial policies and practices are on the rise during the last two decades in Turkey through the requirement of quality assurance processes by YÖK, and that the reflection of YÖK requirements in university practices is variable in different managerial dimensions.